The Sun's rays
by Wyrenfire
Summary: Oneshots centred around the Trials of Apollo series. Can be angst, fluff, funny or sad. Includes any of the characters from the books. Used to be called Midnight vow. Please leave suggestions for my next oneshot. I'm rebooting this! New chapters soon.
1. Midnight vow

**Viva la vida:**

 **Ok, this is my first fic for the Percy Jackson fandom. I don't know about you, but I LOVE APOLLO. He's POV is so well written by uncle Rick, that I just can't help loving him. So I wrote this fic after listening to this song on the bus.**

 **I own nothing. Rick Riordan owns the trials of Apollo and Coldplay owns Viva la vida.**

I was sat in the driver's seat, trying to keep my dwindling focus on the road ahead of me. It was late, at least past midnight. We were in Arizona, trying to find the next entrance to the Labyrinth. We had left it to find food and decent sleep (I was so sick of stone floors), but now we couldn't find a way back in.

I blamed Grover. He had assured us that we could stop on the surface and still finish our quest in the five day time limit, though that time was now down to three. Now we were stuck dashing around, looking for a way back in, even if it was the last place I wanted to go.

I glanced at the passenger seat, seeing Meg sleeping, and admitting that a smile pulled at my face. She may spend most of her time irritating me, but I had grown to care for her. I hoped she came out of this adventure ok, I wanted her to have a chance at a normal life. And I owe her piano lessons.

Grover was layed out on the back seats, sleeping. His snores filled the silence of the car. I knew I should pull over and get some rest, but my dreams recently had been filled with mistake from my past... No, it was much nicer to just keep driving.

As the quite was constantly ruined by Grover's sleeping habits, I decided to turn the radio on, but only loud enough for me to hear, not disturb Meg.

After a few songs ( not at all up to the standard of Apollo), a song I had heard before, as a god, came on. As a god (oh how I missed that time), I had wrote it of as an alright song, for humans, but in my current condition, it spoke to me.

As the verses flowed, I let my mind connect the lyrics with my life.

 _I_ _used to rule the world  
Seas would rise when I gave the word_

It had been glorious to be a god, the power to change the lives of mortals and demigods, held in my hand. Remembering that feeling almost brought tears to my eyes.

 _Now in the morning I sleep alone  
Sweep the streets I used to own_

Now I was just as weak to the gods' will as every other mortal. I was forced to complete the prophecies that, in the past, I would've dumped on a demigod.

 _I used to roll the dice  
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes  
Listen as the crowd would sing  
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"_

My fall from grace had left me defenceless. When once my very presence would've caused monsters to drop dead, now I had to learn to kill them, the mortal way.

 _One minute I held the key  
Next the walls were closed on me  
And I discovered that my castles stand  
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand_

But being a mortal had changed my view of myself. As a god, I had done many wrongs, killed innocents and used my power to manipulate people. I was not happy with what my past self had done, but how could I change it?

 _I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field_

My past lovers swam before my eyes, whether from grief or exhaustion, I couldn't tell.

 _For some reason I can't explain  
Once you're gone there was never  
Never an honest word  
But that was when I ruled the world_

Every lost love was like a scar on my heart, never to fade. Everyone always left me, one way or another. Only Artemis stayed by me, and even now she is away from me, I missed her so much. I was destined to live alone. But my life would be so short now, I was mortal!

 _It was the wicked and wild wind  
Blew down the doors to let me in  
Shattered windows and the sound of drums  
People couldn't believe what I'd become_

I thought of all the destruction I had caused as a god, why the ancient Greeks had continued to pray to me was out of my knowledge. The demigods of today held no respect for the gods, and I was beginning to see why.

 _Revolutionaries wait  
For my head on a silver plate_

Every monster I had ever angered seemed to be tracking me down as a mortal, all wanting just a little revenge.

 _Just a puppet on a lonely string  
Oh who would ever want to be king?_

Even as I longed to be a god again, a small, traitorous part of me wanted to remain a mortal. To live a normal life, go to school, raise a family.

 _I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field_

 _For some reason I can't explain  
I know Saint Peter won't call my name  
Never an honest word  
But that was when I ruled the world_

If I died on this adventure, I was sure to go to the fields of punishment. I had wronged so many people, used them for my own end, I could never say sorry enough to make up for it.

 _Woahahahah oh, woahahah oh  
Woahahahah oh, woahahah oh,  
Woahahahah_

 _I_ _hear Jerusalem bells are ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field_

 _For some reason I can't explain  
I know Saint Peter won't call my name  
Never an honest word  
But that was when I ruled the world_

But maybe I could change, maybe my time as a mortal will help me at least change my ways. I could help the demigods, I could be a proper father to my kids, and maybe, just maybe someone will forgive me.

As I drove through the night, with the stars lit in the sky, I vowed to change. I had been given this chance to prove I can be a better person, and I was going to take it!

 **AN:** **How was that? I hope Apollo wasn't too OOC.**

 **I randomly came up with their reason for being in a car, I tried to make it fit what might happen in the Burning Maze, but Rick always has much better ideas.**

 **I don't live in American, so if anything was inaccurate, please forgive me.**

 **That's it from me, I might add more of these and make them into one shots for the trials of Apollo series, if that's what people want.**

 **Bye**

 **Wyrenfire**


	2. Inspiration

**AN: I apologise in advance for bad music choices. I'm pretty tone deaf.**

 **I don't own the Percy Jackson series. The 'Baby mine' song is from Dumbo. The old Greek song, 'Follow the drinking gourd' is a traditional Negro song I found online. The song 'Poio to hroma tis agapis' is by Loudovikos ton Anogeion. I used the English translation. I don't own these songs.**

* * *

I've always known I was a god of music. I mean, it was the first thing I did when I was born. Even in the womb, I loved to listen to Leto as she sang to me and my sister. Singing, dancing, and playing instruments was the most natural thing to me. How could I not be the god of music?

But, believe it or not, I wasn't born with my knowledge of music. I know, right! Unbelievable! But it is true. I've always known how to sing, but not always what to sing about or how to use emotions and memories to enhance the sound.

I learnt all that I know from various sources. From other gods, to humans, and even from animals. And, even after my four thousand years on this earth, I'm still learning.

Here are just a few of my most memorable inspirations.

My early years were some of the calmest, yet dullest years of my life. Despite our enhanced growth rate, Leto kept me and my sister confined to Delos. We tried many times to evade her and explore other islands, but she always found us. Artemis and I turned it into a sort of game, and we'd work together to trick mother. Come to think of it, that's one of the few times me and my sister have ever cooperated with each other.

Despite our confinement to Delos, those years were fun. Without godly responsibilities, me and my sister could spend our days acting like normal children, playing pranks of each other or pretending we're on an adventure to steal gold (sweets) from the vicious monster (mother). Ahh, those were the good days...but I digress.

Though sadly, like all childhoods, my nostalgia blurs out the bad parts. In those days, we may have learnt about love and friendship, but we also learnt about the harder parts of life. Looking back, nothing that happened was that terrible, but to a child it was traumatizing.

I remember it was a nice day, full of sunshine and warmth. Nymphs played in the forests and animals grazed contentedly. Artemis decided it was the perfect day for us to try out the new bows Hephaestus gifted us.

She lead me into the forest and picked out a good spot for archery. Very little bracken in our way and clean, smooth trunks. We'd only shot our bows a few times before, and we were still getting the hang of it. Thinking back, I'm surprised we didn't see the deer, since it had so few places to hide from view.

I knew something was wrong the moment Artemis' arrow hit its target. Instead of a dull _thunk_ of an arrow striking wood, I heard a wet, soft smack. Artemis heard it too, and took off at a run before I'd even processed the sound. Quickly following her after the arrow, I dreaded what we'd find.

I wasn't an idiot, I knew about death. How could I not, when the god of death himself had visited me and my sister after our birth. But, I'd never seem anything die, or even be hurt.

Scrambling to my sister's side, I was not prepared for what I would see. Laying in front of us was a deer. A young stag, with only his first set of antlers. Artemis' arrow was buried deep in the deer's chest, trailing rivets of blood onto the leaf-litter below. My sister was desperately trying to help the deer, reaching out to pull the arrow. I'd never seen blood before, and I decided then and there that I did not like it!

Surprisingly, the deer was still alive. As Artemis tugged shakily at the arrow, the stag screamed and kicked out weakly. Seeing the animal's pain only distressed my sister further, and she began sobbing.

Hating to see my other half in such a panic, I rushed the other side of the deer, gently removing Artemis' hand from the arrow. I was only new to medicine then, but even I knew not to remove the projectile from these kinds of wounds.

"Fix it!" Artemis shouted at me, panic turning to determination. "you're the god of healing! Heal him!"

"I...I don't know how...I've never tried this before!" I told her, at a complete loss of what to do. I knew a few healing charms that Leto had taught me, but I had a feeling those wouldn't work on this wound.

Artemis continued to scream and shout at me, demanding that I fix the deer. I knew she was just feeling guilty and panicked about the dying animal, but my younger self couldn't stop the tears that formed in my eyes at feeling my sister's anger directed at me. Of course, I'm used to this now, but back then Artemis and I had never fought before.

The deer died sometime during her rant at me. I felt it died, heard its last breath as my sister stood over me, tears running down her face as she shouted. The twitching stopped, and the poor deer's heart gave up, strained to its limit by internal bleeding. And, when my sister realised this, all the fight and anger left her. She fell to her knees beside the dead stag and sobbed, mixing her tears with its blood.

That was how our mother found us. I imagine it was quite troubling to find your children crouched by a dead animal, crying their eyes out and covered in blood. But, if this bothered her, she didn't show it. Instead, silently, she swept us into her arms and carried us home.

I don't remember what happened in between, but suddenly me and my twin found ourselves in a warm bed. Not just any bed, though. It was mother's bed. She lay between us, one arm wrapped around me, and the other around my sister, gently hugging us close to her side.

My young, traumatised mind was still running on autopilot, and the only thing I processed for half an hour was that I was warm and safe. The image of the deer, its blood and its pain, invaded my mind every time I tried to think. So I didn't.

Though, after a while, I began to come back to myself. I had the feeling that something was chasing the bad thought away, and I wanted to find it. I slowly registered that someone was softly singing in the gloom of the room. My mother.

 _Baby mine, don't you cry,_

 _Baby mine, dry your eyes,_

 _Rest your head close to my heart,_

 _Never to part, baby of mine._

The tune was soft and calming, filling the room with its gently lyrics. It was sang with such love and caring, that I was completely taken by it. I'd never heard music that drew out emotions like this before. The only songs I sang were silly little rhymes I'd made up to annoy my sister. This was my first taste of what music was capable of.

 _Little ones when you play,_

 _Don't you mind what they say,_

 _Let those eyes sparkle and shine,_

 _Never a tear, baby of mine._

The song continued, lulling my tired mind to sleep. In the soft embrace of my mother, hearing her loving voice sing to me and my sister, I couldn't say awake. Snuggling closer to Leto, I let all thoughts of the deer and Artemis' anger slip away. The song probably had more lyrics, but I fell asleep before I could hear them.

* * *

The next time I learnt about what could be accomplished by music was when me and my sister met the Olympians for the first time. Of course, we'd met most of them already, but we'd never seen them all together on Olympus. It was actually quite nerve-wreaking.

Zeus had been reluctant to let us join the pantheon, on account of Hera's rage at our existence. Not satisfied with this, Leto stormed up to Olympus and gave Zeus a piece of her mind. He soon agreed to let the council vote on the matter. If Artemis and I could win enough of the gods' favour, we'd be OLYMPIANS!

We were understandably excited, but also nervous. We needed to prove that we were important enough for a place in the pantheon. I, of course, was confident I'd be accepted. I mean, how could they turn down the chance to get to know me? And, I guess Artemis had a good chance at getting in too.

I remember walking into Olympus for the first time. The towering marble arches and columns rose higher than any building or cliff I'd ever seen. Fountains and statues littered the main courtyard, depicting the gods and goddesses in all their glory. Nymphs and minor gods wandered past us, some stopping to gaze at us as we made our way to throne room. Most of them looked friendly, but I spotted some glares amongst the crowd.

Leto had not been permitted entry to Olympus, so me and my twin walked alone. Being without my mother made me feel strangely vulnerable, like everything was much more dangerous and alien. I must have let my insecurity show on my face, because Artemis wordlessly touched her shoulder to mine. Her action was simple, but it reminded me that she was there, that we were doing this together.

As the huge double doors swung out to permit us entry, I deliberately made myself slightly taller. It was supposed to boost my confidence, but upon seeing the towering figures of the gods, I felt more like an ant than ever. If Artemis was equally intimidated, she didn't show it.

"May I present Artemis and Apollo, children of Leto...and Zeus." Ganymede, Zeus cupbearer, announced our arrival, casting a nervous look at Hera as he mentioned our relation to Zeus.

Hera, for her part, looked decidedly bored by our arrival. From what mother had told me, I almost expected her to leap to her feet and demand our execution. I held no love for Hera as soon as I saw her. She may be my stepmother, but she was not family. And, from the glare in her eyes as they rested on me, she didn't see me as family either. I was fine with that.

"Ah, yes, welcome to Olympus." Zeus addressed us, signalling that we should come forward. As Artemis and I walked closer to our father, I could feel the gazes and glares of the other gods and goddesses. Halfway across the throne room, Zeus indicated for us to stop. I did, but my nerves caused me to almost trip over. I fought the urge to blush at my stumble, trying to play it off casually. Face palming the floor in front of all the gods would not be a good start to my career as the coolest god around!

"Ha ha!" a laugh exploded for one of the gods. A large, crazed looking, heavily armoured man was pointing at us, cackling his head off. I instantly disliked him, and I'm sure Artemis felt the same. The war god let out a mocking chuckle at Zeus. "are these weaklings your new Olympians? The mistakes of another exploit of yours, father?"

"Silence, Ares!" Zeus snapped at the cackling god I now knew was Ares, the god of war. I'd never met him, he'd never gone to Delos to visit us, and I found myself quite glad of that fact. Zeus continued in his calmer voice, addressing the other gods this time. "we will be voting on whether or not we should allow these gods to join the council."

All the gods stared at us, analysing us. Ares' gaze searched me for weaknesses, like I was an opponent in battle and he just needed to strike me from the right side to fell me. Hera glared at me and my sister with all the contempt of a cat presented with rotten fish that it rather not eat. If all the gods had been looking at me like that, l might've panicked, but luckily, not all the council members hated us. Demeter's stern yet kind eyes reassured me that she would judge me fairly. Hestia, with her comforting aura of warmth, calmed me enough that I could face the gods without flinching. It definitely paid to have allies on the council.

"Well...?" Aphrodite asked in a bored tone, fixing her make-up in a mirror held by a servant. I shifted uncomfortably as I realised they'd been expecting us to do something.

I'm ashamed to say that whenever I'm not sure how to proceed, I turn to Artemis. It is, sadly, an unconscious reaction that I find I cannot help. So of course, that's what I did.

Artemis had always been better than me when it comes to hiding and not reacting to your emotions, a skill I am mildly jealous of. In that moment, she hid it so well that even I knew not what she'd do next. She stepped forward.

"I am Artemis, goddesses of the hunt," she proudly introduced herself, leaving me standing behind her on my own. She addressed Zeus directly, using a voice I'd only ever see her use when she tried to get me to steal cookies from mother for her. It was sweetly convincing, and it definitely worked on father. "Father, I've always wanted to meet you! Mother told us wonderful stories about you! You look much more handsome and powerful in person."

I instantly frowned at that. Mother barely mentioned Zeus, and if she did, it was to warn us about his wife. I was completely bemused by her sudden change of tone, but I recognised her strategy. It was the tone she used to convince the more standoffish wood nymphs to play with her. With complements and praise, I knew she could convince someone to do almost anything. While Zeus looked surprised at the sudden praise and smiled at Artemis, I realised she'd just wrapped him around her finger.

Hera was clearly not happy with how Artemis was winning her husband's favour, and poked the lord of thunder in the side. Zeus preceded to ignore her, then picked Artemis up and placed her gently on his knee. Feeling even more out of place, I shuffled my feet awkwardly.

"Well, aren't you a sweet little girl. You might just be my favourite daughter." Zeus grinned at Artemis, while my sister smiled up at him. It was a very fake smile, but clearly Zeus hadn't been around my sister long enough to recognise that. The king of Olympus faced the rest of the council. "she is clearly an Olympian. Yes?"

From his tone, it was obvious what answer would please him. Not being idiots, Hephaestus and Poseidon nodded. The nicer goddesses like Hestia and Demeter also voiced their agreement. Athena remained silent, grey eyes studying Artemis intensely. Whatever she was looking for, she soon found it, nodding to Zeus mutely. Hera was red in the face with barely contained fury as she watched yet another of her husbands mistakes become an Olympian. Ares looked bored, and did not vote.

"It's settled then! Artemis is an Olympian, goddess of the Hunt." Zeus issued, placing my sister back on the ground next to me.

"And maidens." Artemis added her interruption. Zeus froze for a second, then nodded.

"And maidens-"

"Also, I'll be the goddess of the forests and mountains" Artemis interrupted again, smiling winningly at our father. "I'd also like to remain a virgin, and have a group of immortal hunters (girls only). Oh, and some hunting dogs!"

"Of...of course dear. You can have that as well." Zeus looked conflicted, unable to resist my sister's puppy-dog eyes.

"Promise?" Artemis asked sweetly, melting our father's resolve.

"I promise on the river Styx." Zeus instantly replied. Thunder rumbled. This seemed to be what Artemis was looking for, because she stepped back with a smile on her face, shoving me lightly in the back.

"Go on, your turn." She hissed into my ear before shoving me right in front of Zeus. I wanted to turn to scream. I couldn't do what she'd just done! I may be the god of poetry, but no fancy words would convince Zeus to fall for the same trick. I raced through my mind, looking for something to impress the council.

I couldn't woo them with archery, the room was much too small. Healing a minor burn was hardly likely to amaze immortal beings. Flirting would probably get me electrocuted. I was all out of inspiration for moving poetry. I hate to admit it, but none of my skills were very useful in that situation.

Despite my growing panic, I did what I do best. Acting confident!

"I'm Apollo, god of medicine, and poetry, and also archery." I announced proudly, puffing out my chest. I knew I was god of a few other things, but didn't want to brag. Yes, I am capable of not bragging!

"So you're a wussy?" Ares barked out a laugh, sneering down at me. I wisely ignored him.

"I think he's cute!" Aphrodite squealed, looking at me like I was a silly little pet, or a mortal.

"I'm not cute. I'm also the god of plagues!" I rushed to defend my honour, obviously. She couldn't get away with such an insult to my dignity.

"Having so many domains could make him distracted. A distracted god is useless." Athena told Zeus, speaking about me as if I wasn't there. This whole exchange was not going how I imagined.

"I'm actually very good at keeping up with my domains." I made a point to direct this statement at Athena. Just between you and me, this was a lie, at the time. I'd barely begun to understand all my duties, let alone keep them running. Athena probably knew that, damn it!

The other gods ignored me, starting their own conversations with each other about the pros and cons of keeping me. Artemis made an exasperated expression at me, rolling her eyes. I remained still, panicking for a way to fix this.

"I just don't see why we need a god of poetry!"

"Healing is a mortal need, not a need of the gods!"

"He could be quite entertaining to keep around?"

"I sense a troublemaker, brother."

This continued as the gods voiced their opinions on my usefulness. I thought it was entirely unfair for Hera to say my medicine skills were unneeded to the gods. I know absolutely no gods that have ever stuck to her family values. Her own husband cheats on her regularly.

Once again I hate to admit it, but Artemis was my saving grace. While I was standing around like an idiot, she'd somehow got her hands on a baglama, a kind of stringed instrument with a long neck and lots of frets. Wordlessly, she tossed it to me.

I caught it on instinct, recognising the instrument. I could play this! This was how I'd be able to impress the council! And it totally wasn't thanks to Artemis!

I picked a folksong I'd heard the travelling cloud nymphs singing when they floated over Delos. It was upbeat and a little silly, but hopefully it would entertain the gods. I brought the instrument into position, and began to play.

 _When the sun comes back, and the first quail calls,_

 _Follow the drinkin' gourd,_

 _When the old man is a-waitin' for to carry you to freedom,_

 _Follow the drinkin' gourd,_

 _Follow the drinkin' gourd,_

The sudden music stopped the gods mid conversation, and they sat silently to listen to me play. Feeling their attention on me, I put even more feeling into the song, hoping to inspire feelings of fun and silliness. It seemed to be working.

 _Follow the drinkin' gourd,_

 _When the old man is a-waitin' for to carry you to freedom,_

 _Follow the drinkin' gourd,_

I finished off the song with a quick flourishing coda, then lowered the instrument. I tried to look unbothered by the stares of the other gods, and instead focused on handing the baglama to a nearby servant. I had to appear cool and casual.

"Oh yeah, I'm also the god of music," I told the gods, looking Zeus right in eyes. "I'm sure that could be quite useful for boring banquets and dinner parties. And humans would sing beautiful songs in your honour."

The gods seemed to consider my statement. I still don't know why they didn't instantly see the advantages of music. I mean, even animals saw the use in songs. But, then again, the other gods are rather dim (please don't tell Zeus I said that)!

"I guess it could be useful." Athena concluded. Most of the other gods nodded in agreement, and I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. They accepted me!

"Congratulations, Apollo god of music, you are now an Olympian." Zeus boomed. I beamed. I didn't dare ask for gifts like Artemis had. I had a feeling I was Zeus' least favourite twin.

So, reader, that was how I learnt to use music to manipulate a situation. I am rather proud of myself for that, even if Artemis will argue that it was her idea.

* * *

It was many years later when I stumbled on my next inspiration. I was having a wonderful time as a god, singing songs, writing poetry, and learning medicine. I had yet to take up the sun god mantel from Helios, so my main pass time was spreading plagues to any city that defied the gods.

Sadly, Artemis and I had grown apart. With her new gang of female hunters she spent most of her time hidden in the wilderness, and had little time for her silly twin brother. It was weird to be without her, but I was a fully-fledged god! I would be fine.

On this day, I happened to be flying over the city of Pylos. It was a decent-looking coastal city, with a large port full of fishing boats. Normally most of these boats would be out at sea, but I'd recently infected Pylos with a plague arrow. Most of the locals were dead or dying, and those that weren't ran themselves ragged trying to care for the sick. No one was available to fish.

As a god, I didn't pity them. I'd been commanded by Zeus to release the plague, so it wasn't actually my fault. If they didn't want a plague, they shouldn't have defied the king of Olympus. Silly mortals...

As unsympathetic as I was, I still found the sight of corpses littering the streets to be distasteful. On a whim, I landed in the city and disguised myself as a simple farmer. Walking in the streets I studied the humans as they tried to heal their families.

I walked past a woman who was desperately trying to lower her son's fever. The damp rag and bucket of water she was using had long been warmed up by the sun, but she dared not leave her child's side. So me, always looking to be a nice person, cooled the water as I passed. I knew Zeus wouldn't let me help directly, but I could do so discreetly. If the woman was shocked by the sudden chill in the water, she didn't show it.

Travelling deeper into the city of Pylos, I began to see the true cost my plague had brought on these people. Body carts trailed past every home, offering to remove dead relatives. The local physician was overrun, leaving sick patients laying in the street outside. The burning heat of the Greek sun had already claimed a few victims.

But, the most interesting part about the city, was the main street. As I got closer to it, I began to hear the familiar yet unexpected sound of music. Why were people singing at a time like this? From what I'd seen of humans so far, they seemed like the kind of creatures to mope and complain about their situation. Humans were always moaning to the gods about their silly little problems, and they never seemed terribly satisfied when we gods do help them.

Arriving at the main street, I saw the source of the music. A parade of musicians and performers were marching through Pylos. Locals celebrated as they passed. The sick leaned out of their windows to wave to the music, while exhausted carers danced in the street. Being as thoroughly confused as I was, I decided to ask a local about this odd sight.

"Excuse me sir, but why is there a parade in this city?" I politely asked an older man who was sitting on a step outside his home. The old man looked at me like I was stupid.

"Why shouldn' ther' be a parade?" the man chuckled, looking at the passing musicians with a smile. I took that as an insult. Clearly being polite to this man was a lost cause.

"Well, maybe because this isn't really a time for celebrating. Your city is plague ridden." I sharply replied, feeling more confused by the second.

"So? It's the perfect time for celebratin'. Everyone needs a little something to be happy about in these times." the old man's tone reminded me of my grandmother Phoebe when she told me tales of 'the good old days' with Gaia in charge. I had the distinct feeling this man was heading off on a similar speech. I decided wisely not to encourage him.

"I guess." I told him, then moved quickly away.

Slowly following the parade through the city, I watched people's reactions to the music. Most of them began singing along to the music, even the ones clearly close to meeting Hades. The stronger ones even stood up and began dancing. It seemed to me that the only ones not happy were the corpses.

While I observed the city folk welcoming the parade, something caught my eye. On one side of the street, hidden behind a pile of dusty old crates, two small children crouched. Curiosity drove me closer to them and I noticed that one of them, a young girl, was very sick. Not afraid of catching the disease, I walked right up to them.

The older sibling, a boy of about ten or eleven years, saw me coming first. He tried to get his sister's attention, but her cloudy gaze was firmly on the parade. Even when her brother spoke to her, it was clear she was only hearing the music.

When I reached them and crouched down beside them, the boy glanced from me to his sister, suspicion laced in his tired eyes. He didn't trust me. I could understand that, but I still wanted to help. Something about seeing these two children reminded me of my sister and I. Of course, we'd never fall prey to a plague, we were gods. But, if we were born mortal, this could've easily been us.

"Hello." I began, flashing the boy a friendly smile. He didn't look impressed.

"Wha' you want?" the boy hissed, moving to create a wall between me and his sister, who was still hypnotized by the music.

"I don't want anything," I replied sincerely, showing my palms in a gesture of peace. The boy still looked sceptical, but he lowered his guard. I risked a simple question. "Does your sister like the parade?"

"Yeah...we see it every year," the boy mumbled, glancing worriedly back at his sister. "I promised her we wouldn't miss it this year either."

"But you didn't want to take her to see it?" I prompted, hearing his tone of worry.

"No...she needs to rest. I don't have the means to buy her medicine, so I've been sellin' these," He told me, then held up a small trinket. It was made from string, woven together with bits of glass and pebbles to create a shiny charm. The weaving left much to be desired, but it was good for something made by a young child. He added. "if I can sell enough of these, I could buy the herbs she needs."

I had to force myself not to frown in pity. As the god of prophecy (a recently acquired title) I could have looked ahead and seen that his plan wouldn't work, but I didn't need prophecy to see that his sister was on Hades' doorstep.

Just as I thought that, the sickly girl suddenly leaned against her brother, eyes hooded. The boy quickly wrapped his arms around her, fear glistening his eyes.

"Melita? Are you okay? Do you need water?" her brother asked frantically, panicking. The girl, Melita, just smiled at him. Her gaze was still on the parade, which was now moving slowly away.

"I want to sing. Can you sing with me? Just like Papa did?" Melita pleaded to her brother, already humming along to the song that had just started up from the musicians. The boy nodded mutely, and began shakily singing along.

 _ **(I assure you this sounds better in Greek)**_

 _What is the colour of love,_

 _Who will find it for me,_

 _If it's red like the sun,_

 _It will burn like fire,_

 _Yellow like the moon,_

 _It will be lonely._

The boy was horribly out of tune, but the love behind it shook me. I hadn't realised human voices could transmit so much feeling into a song. I've always tried to replicate the pure emotions of life in my singing, but clearly there were some emotions we gods would never understand. Unconsciously, I quietly began to sing along.

 _If it has sky's colour,_

 _It will be far,_

 _Be black like night,_

 _It will be sly,_

 _What is the colour of love,_

 _Who will find it for me,_

 _Be white cloud,_

 _Leaves and passes by,_

 _Be white jasmine,_

 _On the bloom of spoils,_

 _Be white jasmine,_

 _On the bloom of spoils._

When the boy started that verse, the girl's eyes closed. By the end of it, she was gone.

The boy broke down crying, hugging his limp sister as the music of the parade faded down the street. My presence forgotten, the boy didn't notice me leave. As I dashed down a small alley, I'd be lying if I said my eyes were dry.

Once I'd resumed my godly form and taken to the heavens again, I found myself wishing I'd done something. But, I knew that if Zeus had found out, I'd be severely punished. However, there was something I could do!

That night I went to visit uncle Hades. After some explaining, he was happy enough to fast track the dead girl to Elysium. I hoped she'd choose re-birth. Her life had been cut short too soon, but I also knew that millions of children die young everyday and never even get into the underworld. She had just been in the right place at the right time to pull my heartstrings and get this special treatment. As much as I wanted to at that moment, I knew I couldn't do this for every mortal I stumbled across. It would be chaos.

It may have been sad, but that visit to Pylos taught me just how amazing humans can be. They continue to sing and dance even in the worst times and their short, painful lives grant them a skill even I don't have. Grief and hope were emotions us gods would never comprehend in their entirety. Those emotions were reserved for mortals alone, and I'm split on whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

* * *

 **AN:** **Hey...hi. I'm so sorry for this mess of a chapter. I deleted the other two chapter because they embarrassed me too much. Hopefully this isn't also embarrassing...**

 **I lost interest in this fic a while ago, but 'The Burning Maze' brought my muse back to life. So I'm reviving this fic!**

 **Please leave any suggestions for my next oneshot. It can be anything Apollo related, be cause he's so underrated in fics.**

 **Bye**

 **Wyrenfire**


	3. Visit

**AN:** **Hello again! I managed to get this finished just before I headed off on holiday. It's shorter than the last one, but the last one was a special case.**

 **This is set during 'The Burning Maze', just after they return from saving the oracle. Spoilers, obviously.**

 **I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

* * *

I waited till midnight.

Midnight has always been my favourite time. It wasn't bright and showy like daytime, full of noise and activity. It was settled, unlike dawn and dusk, where creatures rush to start or finish their activities. Midnight was calm and still, the perfect conditions for the visit.

I'll admit, it was more spying than visiting, since I had no intention of letting my brother know I was there. Think what you will, but this precaution wasn't so I could tease to him about how oblivious he was to people sneaking up on him; it was only slightly to do with that.

The real reason for my silent visit was because my father, Zeus, had repeatedly threatened to punish me alongside my sibling if I'm caught communicating with him. And, as much as I care about my brother, I'm more useful as a goddess than a mortal. At least from Olympus I can keep an eye on him as he repeatedly gets himself into trouble. I'd also rather not suffer the humiliation of being mortal.

While I was slowly flying the moon chariot over the blackening sky, I peered down to the desert below. From this height it looked exactly the same as the rest of the dusty wasteland that surrounded it. The brightest part was the city off in the distance, polluting the sky and fading out the beautiful constellations. Mortals had no respect for the heroes in those stars. My mind jumped to Orion, the closest I ever came to breaking my vow, and Zoë Nightshade, my most recent constellation.

I was beginning to wonder how I'd find my brother's current camp in this sea of identical-looking desert rocks and scrubs. Normally I'd be able to locate his exact position just by thinking about it. Now though, Zeus has weakened the mental bond we usually share. I could still find his vague location and feel some of his more extreme emotions, but it wasn't even close to what I was used to. I also suspected that Apollo's connection to me had been completely severed. That thought didn't sit well with me.

My eye caught on a glint in the desert, the familiar shine of moonlight on glass. Greenhouses! I remembered one of my scouts mention that Apollo was staying with some nymphs and satyrs in an abandoned home that used to belong to a gardener. This must be it.

Leaving part of my essence in the chariot to continue its path across the sky, I flew down to the desert surface in the form of a burrowing owl. This creature's long legs and small body provided the perfect way for me to approach without suspicion.

Talons kicking up dust and dried plants, I dashed towards what looked like an old pond. As I got closer, the presence of nature was amplified. It reminded me of Pan, before human activities caused him to fade. I knew this place must have some kind of strong connection to the wild or Demeter. The area was also less heat-scorched than it had been recently.

Now that I was next to the pond/pool, I could make out the sleeping forms of two humans. Seven ash trees surrounded the pool, emitting oddly large amounts of energy. Even after inspecting one sapling close up, I still couldn't tell where the energy was going. Never mind. I have more important things to do.

Taking on the form of a fennec fox, I crept closer to the sleeping humans. No nymphs were nearby, but I could smell their scent in the area. It wouldn't matter much if they did see me, since gods can go wherever they want without constraint; I'd just rather avoid any risk of this meeting getting back to Zeus. I was wiser at avoiding conflicts with our father than my brother was.

Soon I was a few feet from the nearest human. Peering at its face, I recognised it as my brother's master, Margaret (Meg) McCaffrey. For someone so young she looked surprisingly troubled, even in sleep. She'd be a good candidate for joining my hunters. I'd watched her fight a few times, and her swordsmanship was wonderful. I shook my head, trying not to get distracted.

Moving quietly past Meg, I spotted my goal. My brother's mortal form was curled up about a metre from the girl, sleeping in a thin-looking sleeping bag. As I trotted over to him, he snorted in his sleep and rolled over, facing away from me. With great effort I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He'd never been a quiet sleeper, even as a god. It was like he couldn't stand to be silent for more than a few seconds, at most. The action was so like him, that I almost expected his face to be just the same as his godly form.

I jumped over him, turning to look closely at his face. Its basic structure was similar to his godly face, except his hair was now brown and his skin was cursed with ache. But, despite these differences, I still recognised him. This was the closest I'd been to my twin in over a year. Unconsciously, I reached out to him with our mental bond, expecting to feel him respond. He didn't. Feeling oddly saddened by this, I took a few steps back.

After double checking that no nymphs were nearby and awake, I changed my form from a fox to a young woman, about the same age as my brother's form. Now that I'd seen him, I wasn't sure what to do next. As much as I wanted to talk to him, I couldn't wake him and risk Zeus finding out.

Deciding to just make sure Apollo was okay, I ran my gaze over his body. His ache ridden face was also marked by a few healing cuts and burns. His red-ringed eyes told me that he'd been crying recently, and his mouth was curled in a small frown. From what I could see of his arms, it was obvious he'd been burnt recently. The burns were healing well so I wasn't worried about infections, but seeing my normally so lively brother look so down-trodden and damaged angered and disturbed me. Our father should never have let this happen!

"You've done so well so far, brother. I know you'll complete Zeus' trials and re-join the Olympians," I bent down and whispered softly to him, half-hoping he'd hear it even in sleep. If he did, he showed no sign of it. "good luck, Apollo."

With that, I stood up to leave, still watching my sleeping twin. Just as I moved to leave a young voice piped up in the silent night.

"Who are you?" Spinning around, I found myself face to face with a very much awake Meg McCaffrey. The dark-haired girl blinked up at me, while her left hand absentmindedly grabbed her glasses from the floor and placed them on her face.

Caught off guard, I stood still for awhile, just starting at her. I'd never planned what I'd do if someone saw me. I just assumed I wouldn't be seen. That was back-firing on me now. I could just flash away without a word, but then Meg would probably tell Apollo I was here. And, as much as my brother annoyed me, I had no wish to make him feel like I visited him but only talked to Meg. That would probably get me a 'worst sister' award.

Speaking of Margaret McCaffrey, the young girl had now stood up and was walking towards me with a determined frown on her face. Her fingers fiddled with two golden rings, ready to wield the swords that came from them.

"Hello, Margaret McCaffrey." I spoke calmly, channelling most regale and godly voice, hoping she'd get the hint and forget I was here. She didn't.

"Meg. Don't call me Margaret!" The girl replied with cold anger, stopping a few steps from me, standing on her toes to appear taller. It was almost cute to watch. I probably have more respect for mortals than most of the other gods, but even I can't deny that they can be adorable when they get grumpy.

"Meg, then," I corrected myself, and continued in a diplomatic voice. "you did not see me here on this night. You will tell no one of this, or you will perish."

"Sure, whatever," Meg dismissed my threat with a shrug. Tilting her head at me, she asked. "but who are you?"

"That is not your business, mortal."

"No, wait, I can guess. You sounded just like him when you said that," Meg smiled vindictively, glancing at my sleeping twin. "you're Apollo's sister, Artemis."

"Yes, and I warn you that if you breathe a word of this to him, you will regret it." Keeping my voice level, I met her challenging gaze with one of my own. Again, she seemed unfazed.

"He wants to see you." Meg told me simply, kicking a pebble absentmindedly.

"I know."

"Then why don't you talk to him?" Meg tilted her head again, the rhinestones in her glasses blinking in the moonlight.

"It's not that simple. Zeus has forbidden it." I explained stoically, deciding she would be less likely to blab if she understood my reasoning.

"Sure it is," Meg corrected me, looking much too confident as she stared up at me. "he's family. You're supposed to put family first."

"He may be family, but this punishment is his own doing, even if Zeus is being unreasonable," I justified, moving to leave. "if I end up mortal too, then I'll be unable to watch over him. He needs me as a goddess more than an equally weak mortal."

With that, I turned away from her and walked off, preparing to flash away. Meg, who quiet for a few seconds, spoke up just as I was about to leave.

"He nearly killed himself," I stopped in my tracks, listening to Meg's sudden, blunt announcement. She continued. "with his own arrow."

"I am aware of that." I informed her, without turning around. This was only half true. I'd been aware of the fight on the yacht, and that he'd experienced high levels of pain and emotion. But, I had not seen the fight or what caused it. The only thing I'd known was that my lieutenant, Thalia Grace, had lost her brother. Not that she was aware of that yet. I planned to break it to her as gently as I could; as soon as I figured out a way to do that.

"Yet you don't care?" Meg asked me rhetorically, obvious mocking in her voice.

"I do care. But I also believe my father would not let Apollo die as a result of his trials. They are lessons, not a death sentence."

"It doesn't matter if you think he'll die or not, he will still be hurt that you apparently abandoned him," Meg snapped, showing the first anger behind her statements. "you're breaking his trust in you. He needs his sister."

I'll admit I didn't know how to react to that. As long as he became a god again and didn't die trying, I was begrudgingly okay with Zeus' chosen punishment. Perhaps it was uncalled for, since the war with Gaia was hardly his fault, but I could understand that my father needed to punish someone. I didn't like it, but I accepted it. I'd never given thought to what it was actually like to be mortal and how it would affect him.

Every time he'd previously returned from being mortal, he would just act the same as always. Maybe a bit quieter for awhile, but nothing concerning. But, then again, this was the first time he'd been completely powerless as a mortal. Before, Zeus had always granted him some of his godly powers, so he was similar to a demigod. That wasn't the case this time.

"He will be fine. He has done this before," I brushed off her accusations, turning to glare at her. "now please, do not repeat this meeting to anyone."

Meg's only response was a stiff nod. I watched as she lay back down on her sleeping bag, facing decidedly away from me.

Satisfied that she would cause no more issues, I once again prepared to leave. I willed myself to appear as a buzzard, one of my sacred animals, and prepared to take off into the sky.

Just as I tensed my wings to take off, another snore came from my sleeping brother. Glancing back, I watched him roll onto his back, causing his sleeping bag to slip off his chest. This left me with a very clear view of the scar on his upper body, just beside his heart. A small slither of pale skin.

It was a strange feeling, seeing something like a scar on my twin. Gods do not get scars, it just isn't possible. A scar implied the survival of a near-death injury. So, since it was almost impossible to injure a god into near-death, scars never stayed with us. Sure, we could get hurt and have a mark there for a bit, but it was never permanent. Scars were for mortals.

And, yet here my brother was, with a scar. I knew it probably wouldn't remain when he became a god again, but it suddenly made Meg's accusations more valid. This was how close my twin had been to death. This was a sign of how far Zeus was willing to go just to get his point across. And it made me sick.

I'd always known our father favoured me over my brother but, as I flew towards the moon chariot, it had never been something I'd worried about before. But, now I did. If Apollo did survive these trials, how long would it be before he angered Zeus again? Would Zeus give him an even deadlier task? Or would he just lose his patience and remove my brother permanently?

The idea of ever losing my other half was unthinkable. He may drive me up the walls with his silly songs and poems and irritate me for eternity with his over-protective brother act, but he was still my twin and I would never want him to disappear. I would miss him dearly.

Landing in my moon chariot, I regained my godly form and continued my path across the sky, pushing such thoughts from my mind. Thinking and fretting about the future was my brother's gig, not mine. I had a job to do and hunters to lead. My brother needed to regain Zeus' favour on his own.

But, that wouldn't stop me from checking up on him in the meantime.

* * *

 **AN:** **Wooh, done! Writing from Artemis' POV was much harder than I expected, so sorry if it didn't sound right. I imagine she's a bit like her brother, but less silly and more thoughtful. But she still has a slight condescending attitude to mortals, like all the gods.**

 **I hope Meg wasn't OCC. I wanted Meg and Artemis to talk, since they have similar yet different approaches to Apollo. And I think they'd get along.**

 **I'm off to Iceland now, so hopefully I'll be able to write my next oneshot while I'm there. Please leave suggestions, they're a great help**

 **Bye**

 **Wyrenfire**


	4. Others

**AN:** **I wrote the start of this in Iceland, and finished it back home. Hopefully it's good**

 **This was inspired by hours spent sat in the back of a campervan, staring at the landscape. I got extremely bored.**

 **I'm sorry, I didn't do a third god. I was going to add an Aztec god, but I didn't think I could do it.**

* * *

Now, l may not have been born a god of the sun, but that doesn't mean I resented the upgrade. Sure, it was scary and strange at first, but I've always been good at adapting to change so I quickly got the hang of it. It's not like driving a flaming hot chariot pulled by temperamental fire horses is hard or anything...

Anyway, back to the point. Being a sun god has its perks; for example, I'm the first thing people see in the morning as I light up the world. No one can look directly at me (cause I'm too awesome), but everyone knows I'm there. It's the perfect day job!

However, I am only one of many sun gods. Not surprisingly, most cultures on this earth decided that the giant glowing ball in the sky must be a god of some kind. And, since different parts of the world rely on the sun to varying degrees, not every sun deity is created equal. This creates quite a cluttered sky as each deity traces the same course.

Because of the abrupt and sudden way I'd been instated as the sun god, I was not made aware of just how different each solar deity was. I hadn't even met any major gods from other cultures yet! I'd only really met a few minor gods and goddesses as I travelled around Greece's surrounding territories. So meeting Ra was a shock.

It was so long ago, I barely remember why I was there. I'm pretty sure I'd been following Alexander the great as he expanded Greek territory, and looking great doing it. If I'd been a little bolder I might even have approached him about a date. But, sadly, he was much too busy with the conquering, and I was too shy. One of my many regrets!

Anyway, I somehow found my way to Egypt while the great city of Alexandria was being built. Oh, let me tell you, there was never a place like Alexandria. It was a strange concoction Greek and Egyptian culture, all mixed up and poured over a huge city. This left the place looking like no where else on earth. At least, at the time.

This mixing of cultures also led to a mix of gods. Alexandria was a heaving mess of Greek and Egyptian deities, with a few new gods added in for good measure. Speak nothing of the Greek-Roman headaches, but the migraines I got from Alexandria were the worst of my immortal life.

Despite my rank as the sun god, the Alexandrians kept trying to merge me with Horus. I know, right! It totally didn't make any sense! So while I was trying not to sprout a bird's head and wings, piloting the sun chariot was the last thing on my mind. This led to me only sending a tiny, almost unconscious part of my essence to do that duty.

The problem with this was that such an action led to me having no control over the sun chariot. Normally, this wasn't a big deal. I mean, the sun only has one path across the sky, and the fire horses know it off by heart anyway.

However, the sky over Alexandria wasn't normal. Unknowingly, I found myself sharing the sky with another god. This is where my lack of control over the sun chariot became a problem.

Just imagine this; two suns flying the same path, unaware of each other's presence, and uncontrolled because their gods have migraines. I'm sure you can guess what happened. Yep, we crashed...

Not my proudest moment, I'll admit. Being violently yanked back into the sun chariot as it tumbled towards the land below while fighting off a killer headache, and now suddenly needing to stop it from crashing wasn't an enjoyable experience. I can tell you now that I didn't stop it from smacking into the earth, but I did manage to lower the temperature of the chariot. So while I may have made the Sahara desert a lot hotter, I didn't nuke it. I have no idea what the mortals saw while this was going on, but the Mist must've been strong that day.

Stumbling out of the chariot, which was half buried in the sand while the other half was on fire, I found myself faced with a scene from Chaos itself. My horses, who had escaped from their reins, galloped wildly around the desert, searching for somewhere to go. I rushed to try and catch them, gripping the reins of one and holding it still.

"There, there, calm down. That's a good boy," mumbling to the crazed stallion, I slowly got it to stand still beside me as I stroked its nose. Glancing at the metal name tag on its bridle, I added, "good Inferno, that's better."

With one horse under control I moved to catch the rest, but something else caught my eye. I'd been so focused on getting my chariot sorted out that I hadn't noticed the large, sand-covered barque next to my downed sun. I'd seen boats like this sailing on the river Nile, but this one was much grander. Everything about had an air of ancient power. The hull was painted gold and black, with a few patterns of green. The sail was pure, crystalline white with a symbol of the sun shinning gold in the middle.

Considering that it was the sun barque, I found it surprisingly lacking in gold. Sure, it had plenty of gold trimmings and expensive-looking fabrics and wood. But, if I were Ra, I'd have made the whole boat out of gold! Maybe that's impractical, but what does that matter when you're a god?

While I was admiring the barque, a tall figure stepped out from behind it. Jumping back slightly from the new arrival, I watched them wearily. I could instantly tell he was Egyptian. That pantheon has a weird thing for animal heads on human bodies, and this god was no different. While his body resembled that of a well-aged man of about fifty, his head was that of a bird. A falcon, to be specific.

My first thought was that he was Horus, since that was the only falcon-headed god I was familiar with. Soon enough, I remembered that Horus was not the sun god and was unlikely to be the owner of this barque. My next thought was worse, because it was correct. This was Ra, the big boss of the Egyptian pantheon. And I'd just crashed into him!

Deciding that I should approach this the same way I do with Zeus, I dropped into a bow. Inferno the horse was slower on the uptake and refused to lower him head, almost yanking his reins from my hand. Giving a sharp click of my tongue, I commanded him to obey. The fire horse lowered his head reluctantly, glaring at me with smouldering eyes. I just rolled my eyes at him. Horses.

Ra marched over to me, his sandaled feet leaving light imprints in the sand. Keeping my head down, I waited for him to speak. It felt weird to be near a god more powerful than me that wasn't related to me somehow. He wasn't even from my pantheon, yet he still outranked me.

"Stand," Ra spoke no louder than one would talk in a conversation, yet his voice carried an unmistakable tone of command. Rising to my full height again, I met his eyes evenly as he continued to speak. "explain yourself."

"I'm terribly sorry, Lord Ra. I had no intention to hit your boat, really. I was just...not concentrating properly." I hurried to explain, panicking. If Ra didn't punish me for this, Zeus definitely would. I honestly couldn't have messed up more. Hitting the leader of the pantheon we were currently being mixed with would certainly get me on Zeus bad side. Not that I was ever on his good side...

Surprisingly, Ra nodded calmly as I spoke, a small smile tugging at the edges of his beak. I wasn't even aware he could smile with a falcon head.

"Yes, I guessed as much. I have also found it hard to focus these past few months." Ra told me, dismissing my hurried apology with a small hand gesture. "You're from the new pantheon, right? The Greek one?"

"Yes, that's us." Feeling more confident now that Ra seemed unlikely to attack, I replied in a more casual tone. I mean, we are both sun gods, so we have some common ground. "I'm Apollo."

"Ra. Though you seem to already know of me?"

"Of course. You're like the head-honcho of Egypt," I said, feeling slightly light-headed now that my fears were proven false. My normal, confident (no Artemis, not cocky) manner was returning, along with a little awe at meeting this major deity. "and you're also a sun god! It's very nice to meet you."

I held out a hand for him to shake. After a pause, he took it and shook it once, firmly.

"It looks like Alexandria will bring our cultures ever closer." Ra commented, studying me.

"Hopefully not too close," I couldn't help but joke, looking at the two crashed suns still laying in the sand. Inferno snorted loudly, seemingly unimpressed by my joke. I ignored him. "sorry again, about this crash."

"It's nothing that can't be fixed. Let's just try not to repeat this anytime soon."

"Of course, sir." I replied, reminding myself that he outranked me. Zeus always preferred it when I addressed him as 'sir', so Ra deserved the same title.

"Well, hopefully next time we meet will be under better circumstances." Ra told me, turning to his barque. With a flick of his wrist, the boat began to creak and groan, rising out of the sand dune and repairing itself. The freshly repaired barque sat on the sand, glowing happily. Ra turned back to me.

"Goodbye, young Apollo."

"Farewell to you too, Lord Ra."

On impulse, I held out my fist to the falcon-headed god. Amazingly, he responded, bumping fists with me. He smiled at me the way a veteran would smile at an overly enthusiastic new soldier. I found I liked that look.

Ra climbed into his barque, seating himself on the large golden throne in the middle. Without a word from its owner, the barque rose steadily into the sky, heading back towards its original path. Its glow grew in intensity as it rose. I watched it till it glowed as bright as before, tracking its path across the sky.

With a smile still on my face, I turned to deal with my own vehicle. Upon seeing what I had to deal with, my smile slipped off my face.

The horses had finished reviling in their freedom and were now nosing through the upturned chariot, searching for the treats I kept there. The chariot itself was still on fire, but most of it had died down now. Parts of it had snapped off or been bent at odd angles. This was going to need work and, unlike Ra, I didn't have a magic 'fix it' power up my sleeve.

Beside me, Inferno nickered loudly, clearly mocking me. Infuriating horse!

Sighing heavily, I reluctantly got to work.

* * *

After meeting Ra, it was quite a while till I stumbled upon any other fellow sun gods. Egypt had long fallen to dust, taking any sign of Ra and his pantheon with it. I was sure they were still around, just hiding.

Roman rose to power, overtaking the Greeks and remaking our pantheon. While I remained relatively unchanged (keeping my name and duties), I suddenly found myself closer to the bottom of the pantheon. Romans had little respect for me and didn't see me as terrible important. Artemis says that is why my name remained the same, because they just didn't care about me. I don't like listening to my sister.

With my diminished rank l felt like I was living a half-life. Getting up at the crack of dawn to drive the sun had lost its appeal (what was the point when no one cared?), finding new music didn't excite me anymore (no one would listen to it anyway!), and spreading plagues became my favourite pass time. I hate looking back on that time. I've never felt less like myself than I did then.

Artemis, now named Diana, noticed my depression after the first few weeks. I remember she began acting much nicer to me, but l barely noticed at the time. Mercury and Minerva also seemed to tip-toe around me like I was an unstable bomb, but this only served to make me feel even more bent out of shape. I stayed that way for almost two years.

Looking back, I realise that my sister must've been pretty desperate to help me, because she did something I'd never seen her do. She played the 'weak little sister' card.

I kind of hope she never plays that card again. It was extremely effective.

I'd been laying around my sun temple, tuning my lyre absentmindedly, when she arrived. Bursting into my room, she began sprouting this nonsense tale about being super bored and wanting to go exploring with me. Of course, I was instantly suspicious. She never _wanted_ to go anywhere with me, let alone for the simple reason that she was bored!

I began to call her out on her bluff, but she wasn't done yet. Seeing that I was unfazed by her first argument, she used her ace.

It only took one mention of a male god flirting with her for me to forget about my misgivings. Diana spun a story of how this minor god had been stalking and harassing her all month, and how she wanted to go somewhere he couldn't follow.

Like any good brother, I offered to beat the brains out of this unnamed god, but she insisted she didn't want to see him beat up. I should've been much more suspicious when she said that. If there is one thing my sister likes, it's watching stupid men get what's coming to them.

Instead, she convinced me to go exploring with her, so she could get away from her stalker. I must have been foolish enough to believe her, because before I knew it I was following her around Scandinavia (modern day Norway). The Roman empire hadn't managed to conquer this part of Europe yet, so Diana was interested in checking it out before 'the silly humans' ruined it.

"This is dull. There's nothing here!" I whined for the hundredth time, trudging after my sister as she jogged through the forest. Dark pine trees rose in all directions, making me feel trapped and claustrophobic.

"What are you talking about? 'Nothing' is the last way to describe this place! I thought you were the god of poetry?" Diana laughed, teasing me. Normally I'd rise to her bait and reply with an equally witty comment, but l didn't. Instead, l made a show of yawning widely and leaning against a tree.

"All I see are trees," I said, looking in different directions as I spoke. "trees...trees..." I paused, "Oh, wait! No...just more trees..."

"Stop being such a downer. This forest is one of the last places still untouched by humans. Isn't it beautiful?"

I rolled my eyes, glancing at the forest around me. Dirt and leaf-litter covered the ground, caking on my shoes. Shadows lingered under every tree, even at high-noon. Each dark, ancient tree rose metres above my head, blotting out the sun. And, of course, like every forest, it carried less than happy memories for me.

"It looks like every other forest. Dark, damp and dull." I commented, frowning at my twin. "You know I hate forests, why did you drag me here? Better yet, why did I let you?"

"Because you're gullible..." Diana mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" I questioned sharply, turning to her.

"Because you're a very nice brother." She corrected. I smiled and turned back to the forest, not seeing her exaggerated gagging gesture.

We wandered further into the woods, despite my best attempts at protesting. It was getting dark by the time we stopped again. My sister suddenly stood stock still in the path, letting me bump into her.

"Ow! Why'd you stop?" I snapped, rubbing my head where it had hit my sister's back. She remained silent, staring into the gloom ahead of us.

Squinting, l tried to spot what had caught her interest. Knowing my sister, it was probably just a deer or some other creature. After a few failed attempts to see into the growing shadows of the trees, I gave up and turned to my twin.

"What a-" I began to ask, only to be rudely cut off by Diana. She held up her hand in a gesture of silence.

Feeling rightfully frustrated, I opened my mouth again, fully intending to continue with my question. And again, she cut me off!

"Quiet!" she hissed fiercely, not looking at me. Her eyes remained locked on the unseen item ahead of us as she summoned her bow and loaded an arrow.

Finally meeting my eyes, she muttered, "Stay here. I'll be back in a bit."

And with that, she took off into the shadows, leaving me alone.

"Wait a minute! Where are you going?" I called after her, too late for her to possibly hear me. Stamping my foot in frustration, I looked around for a place to wait.

Finding a tree with suitably shaped roots and smooth bark, I settled down to await my sister.

After two minutes, I was bored. Not just slightly bored. No, I was astronomically bored. You mortals wouldn't understand. I'm used to constantly doing something, even if it's as simple as driving the sun or writing a new song. And, if that gets boring, I just split my essence and go do something else. I would've done so then, but I'd promised my sister that I wouldn't. Something about being 'all there' for her.

So, with nothing else to amuse myself, I began writing poetry. I used a small twig to write in the dirt, scuffing out my work when I changed my mind. My present location and mood definitely influenced the poems. I seemed to only be able to write sad or scary poems about forests. Not my best work.

It seemed like hours had passed, but it was probably only minutes, by the time I heard something. A twig snapped, and was shortly followed by a rustle of leaf-litter. Thinking it was my sister, I didn't glance up. Instead, I said.

"Took you long enough."

A low, savage growl was the only response I got.

I looked up so fast my neck got whiplash. Standing in front me were two wolves. This didn't worry me too much. Gods don't often get noticed by animals, and we're even less likely to be attacked by them. Most animals knew not to mess with deities.

"Oh, hello," I smiled, confused by the wolves' attitudes towards me. I've met lots of wolves before, so I reached out to pet the closest one. It's not like it could hurt me anyway.

Instead, the wolf growled louder, stepping away from my hand. The other wolf snarled at me, pacing closer. Both wolves had odd coats. The closest canine was adorned in russet-red fur, while its friend was a strange golden-ginger colour. But the oddest (and creepiest) thing was that both wolves had glowing blue eyes that lit the darkening forest like broken spotlights, flickering every time they blinked.

"Okay...?" I stood up, backing away from the strange wolves.

Triggered by my movement, the russet wolf jumped forward, jaws open. Its friend snarled at me, reminding me of someone trying to gargle gravel (Olympian parties get wild sometimes).

Deciding that these wolves were probably just confused and didn't recognise my godly nature, I knew what my best course of action would be. I had no desire to hurt these animals (partly because Diana would kill me for it), so I only used a small trickle of my power to create an aura of light around myself.

It wasn't nearly as bright as I'd normally like, but in the gloom of the forest it could've been mistaken for a flare. With outraged and surprised growls, the two wolves backed away, showing their teeth threateningly. A smug smile found its way onto my face. _Silly wolves._

But, after recovering from the sudden flash of sunlight, the two wolves didn't run away. Instead, they continued their attack with renewed vigour. Catching me by surprise, they rushed at me, jaws open wide.

I jumped back to avoid them, caught off guard by the unexpected reaction. I probably would have avoided them, had I not forgotten the tree right behind me. So, embarrassingly, I ended up bumping my back on the rough bark of the tree, unable to avoid the wolves.

I was no longer under the impression these were normal wolves. Something was off. No sensible creature would knowingly attack a god. Even most monsters kept their distance from deities. But, unlike others, these wolves had a foreign, unfamiliar aura about them.

Eyes glowing a fierce blue flame, the russet wolf clamped its jaws around my calf. Shocked by the sudden and strangely burning pain, I let out an undignified yelp. Using distraction, the ginger wolf leapt at me, snapping its teeth at my bare arms. _I knew I should've worn a sweater._

It missed by a fraction, but the wolf had succeeded in landing a nasty nip on my left hand. I'll reluctantly admit that seeing my golden ichor staining its teeth, dripping into the forest floor, made me feel a bit faint. Now, now, don't go thinking I'm the kind of god to swoon at the sight of blood. I couldn't be, I'm a god of healing. It's just that I don't bleed often, and when I do it reminds me of my worst memories. Like my battle with Python...

With a tug of its jaw, the russet wolf knocked me to the ground by dragging my leg to one side. Landing in an undignified heap, I clenched my teeth in pain and frustration. Losing my already strained temper, I blasted the area with light, revealing my true form.

If they'd been mortal wolves, the light would have burnt them to a crisp. Much to my chagrin, they lived. But the light hurt them substantially, burning their eyes and fur and driving them away temporarily.

Scrambling to my feet, I eyed the two injured animals wearily. My blast of sunlight had scorched the nearby trees, leaving them with interesting-looking burns and smouldering branches. For a five metre radius around me the ground was burnt and covered in a layer of ash. The branches over-head had been burnt away, letting sunlight illuminate the new clearing I'd inadvertently created.

Despite their burns and stunned eyes, the two wolves still looked ready to fight again. Their noses' twitched towards me as they tried to work out where I was, hackles rising as they tensed their muscles. The russet-furred wolf seemed to have regained its sight in one of its dim eyes, and was now taking the lead in the attack.

Summoning my golden bow, cursing myself for not thinking of it earlier, l loaded an arrow and aimed it pointedly at the lead wolf's head (oops, pun not intended). I mustered my best 'I'm a god so you better step the Hades away' look and stared the wolves down.

They say you should never hold a wolf's gaze, since they often take it as a challenge, but that was exactly my intention with these wolves. Drawing the bowstring back till my hand rested under my chin, l continued to hold the russet wolf's gaze.

It took the challenge. Leaping forward, it sprinted towards me, eye burning with blue fury. Its blind friend followed its lead, keeping pace with its companion.

Surprised by the determination of these wolves, it took me a second to respond. But, as soon as l did, I shot an arrow straight into the lead wolf, with enough force to send the shaft right through its chest. The arrow tip must have struck its heart instantly, because the wolf collapsed soundlessly, limp as a ragdoll. Only a tiny smudge of blood stained the fur around the arrow wound.

Given that the second wolf was blind, I'd assumed it would halt its attack after the death on its friend. I was wrong. I'd underestimated the fury that drove these wolves to assault me in the first place. So, while I was focused on the russet wolf, the golden-furred mutt made its move.

Even without sight or the guidance of its partner, the wolf located me within seconds and bit me. It over compensated slightly in its jump, so it ended up biting my hip rather than the easier target of my leg. I'm ashamed to say my first reaction wasn't to easily blast it away. Instead, l stood there like a brain-dead cow, shocked by the sudden pain. As I've said before, I'm not used to being wounded, especially by simple wolves ( though I suspected that these wolves were far from normal.) Ichor began coating the lips of the wolf as it bit me, decidedly reluctant to release me.

It took a few seconds, but soon I snapped out of it and reacted. Sadly, my reaction wasn't dignified or godly in any way, so I won't tell you ( and I definitely didn't scream like Aphrodite with a bad hair day!).

While I heroically trying to shake off the mutt ( no, Diana, I wasn't flailing like a drowning spider!), a sound aliken to a bowstring caught my ear, followed by a rush of air much to close to my arm. Before this registered in my mind, I felt the wolf's jaw go slack and release my side. Looking down, I saw the wolf, eyes glazed and jaw drooping, speared through the chest by a golden-tipped arrow.

Expecting my sister (though l was confused as to why she would use gold arrows) l cast my gaze around, looking for the source of the rescue. At first I saw nothing amongst the trees, save the two dead wolves. A whistle sounded above me, drawing my attention to the sky.

As I watched, a golden chariot very reminiscent of my own raced down into the clearing, double-bleaching the nearby foliage. Heat steamed off the metallic gold and fine silver details, increasing the local temperature by at least 4°C. Two golden-chestnut horses pranced proudly in front of the chariot, shod in luminous armour as bright as ichor.

As you can probably guess, I was considerably confused by this sudden and drastic change of circumstance. So forgive me if I was a little slow to realise the driver of the chariot was shouting at me.

Though I might just be immune to pretty ladies shouting at me.

And pretty she was, stood at the helm of the sun-bright chariot, scowling at me with frustration. As she jumped out her chariot and began marching towards me, I couldn't help but admire her figure. Unlike the petty Roman ladies I was familiar with, this young lady was toned and muscular, complemented by her natural hour-glass figure. Despite the current expression of annoyance on it, I could still see that she had a elegant oval of a face with bright brown eyes. Her clothes caught me off guard more than anything else. She wore what looked like a hybrid between a dress and battle armour. Her chest and shoulders were covered by metal and leather plates, while her legs were adorned in a pale brown dress studded with iron buttons.

At her right side, she held a simple recurve bow with interesting carvings flowing down its length. On her left, a long steel-tipped spear was sheathed at her waist. She walked bare foot, yet somehow managed to make it look comfortable on the thorny forest floor.

I may have gotten carried away with staring at her, as the next thing I knew she was directly in front of me, glaring daggers at my being. I saw her lips move, but it didn't occur to me that l should've been listening.

Desperate to regain my composer, l tacked on my winning smile and asked in my most charming voice. "I'm sorry, what?"

Okay, maybe not the right thing to say, but give me a break. I wasn't used to being the one who was lost. Normally I was the god with all the knowledge in a conversation (unless l was taking to Minerva or Diana. They had a way of making me feel stupid).

"I think you mean 'excuse me, can you repeat that?'" she corrected me, rolling her eyes as she repeated her last sentence. "I said, 'who are you and why are you here?'"

"Oh, right, yes," trying to act like l knew that all along, I replied with a wink, " my name is Apollo, god of music and a few other things. I was visiting this fine forest with my sister." It definitely wasn't a 'fine' forest, but I'd learnt that locals tend to like you better if you complement their land.

"You're not from Asgard," she stated simply, looking me up and down. "are you one of the Vanir?"

"I don't believe so, though l have signed up for a magnitude of random clubs in my time." I commented, trying to remember if I'd heard either of those words before.

"The Vanir and Aesir as not clubs! Clearly you are an örlendr." She frowned distasteful at me as if l was less than a rat in her mind.

I had no idea what örlendr meant, but l knew it was an insult to my dignity. And, as you know l don't take insults from random strangers lying down.

"Look, woman, I have no idea who you think you are, but I'll have you know I'm a high ranking member of the Roman pantheon." It normally felt good to announce my rank aloud. Except, l wasn't even sure I was still part of the Roman pantheon at this point. Heck, even Bacchus had a higher standing than me at the moment. Hopefully this lady wouldn't know that.

"Romans? You mean the invaders?" she questioned sharply, a dark look entering her eyes.

"Well...I mean they have got a _few_ countries under their belt. But I wouldn't call them invaders, per-say." I drawled. I didn't like the word 'invaders', it sounded too evil and scary. 'Conquers' was a better word, it made them sound proud and powerful.

"Whatever helps you sleep, I guess," She dismissed my words with a sarcastic wave, "just know that we Norsemen don't go down easy. We'll have your silly little armies running south so fast they'll forget their sandals."

A few seconds past in silence, as l searched for a way to break it. I tried to remember everything Minerva had ever told me about the Norse pantheon. The only thing I knew was that it was barbaric and violent, and had a weird obsession with the number nine.

"So, may I know your name? Since you know mine." I asked cautiously.

"Sól," she began, sounding a bit less defensive than before. "I am the goddess of the sun. These are my horses, Árvakr and Alsvidr." She gestured to the two chestnut stallions, who whinnied at her in reply.

"Really? You're a sun god?" I echoed excitedly, smiling. "I'm a sun god too! What a coincidence!"

Sól smiled back at me for the first time, seemingly more at ease now. Her gaze caught on the dead wolf still at my feet, a pensive look crossing her face.

"Maybe not much of a coincidence. These wolves are cubs of Sköll. It's in their nature to hunt and kill me. They must've picked up on your sun god aura and thought it was me." Sól explained her theory, using her spear to roll the dead wolf over to reveal a sun-shaped burn on its chest.

"Sköll? Who's he?"

"He is the great immortal giant that chases me on my path across the sky each day, until he eats me at Ragnarok... He is always in the form of a golden wolf." Sól's eyes and voice grew sorrowful as she responded, casting a nervous look at the sky.

I followed her gaze, but I could see no sign of a giant wolf hunting her down. I've never been more glad that I don't have some crazy beast chasing me around the world all day. It would definitely take all the fun out of it.

Sensing his owner's distress, Árvakr trotted over to us and nuzzled Sól in the side, offering a horse's version of a hug by laying his neck over her shoulder. This was clearly the right thing to do, as Sól instantly shock off her miserable look and rubbed Árvakr nose gently.

"If you're the Norse sun god, how come I've never heard of you? I mean, I've heard of Odin, Thor and all that jazz, but I don't think I've heard of you."

"You probably wouldn't have. I'm more of a minor deity in my pantheon. The Norse aren't really that interested in the sun. They're more into war and honour."

"Doesn't that bother you? I'd hate to be a minor god. I'd despise being about as well known as Aristaeus!" I exclaimed, filled with righteous fury at the thought of a _minor_ sun god. We were the givers of life; you can't just ignore us!

"Who?" Sól frowned at the mention of Aristaeus. I just waved my hand dismissively, encouraging her to answer my question.

"Well, it doesn't really bother me at all. I guess it would be nice to get more offerings from the mortals, but I don't think I'd be any happier if that happened. Pleasing humans just seems like a dull and thankless job." Sól explained, absentmindedly stroking Árvakr muzzle. "I'm much happier just riding the sun chariot each day, knowing that other creatures appreciate me, even if humans don't."

My first reaction was to frown at her logic, but I was surprised to find that I understood it, in a way. Pleasing humans could feel like a thankless job sometimes. You could give them every thing they'd ever need and they'd still denounce you if the tiniest thing went wrong. Maybe it would be better to just ignore them...?

But, then I remembered all the humans I'd met over the years. The funny ones, the wise ones, and even a few I'd loved. Was it worth losing the chance to meet such unique people every decade if it meant life was simpler? I wasn't sure I knew the answer.

"I guess that makes sense. I'd still rather be prayed to and have fresh sacrifices each morning, but that's just me." I quipped to hide how off-guard her answer had caught me.

Árvakr and Alsvider whinnied together, both turning their heads to glare into a patch of dense forest, ears pinned forward. Sól reacted instantly, flicking her spear around to face the sharpened tip towards the forest, eyes alert.

I was about to summon my bow, but the aura coming from the forest gave me pause. I knew that aura as well as I knew my own.

Half a second later, Diana emerged from the thicket, two hell-hounds slung over her back. Her face morphed into a brief look of surprise upon seeing Sól and her chariot, but she quickly fixed it into an expression of hostility. Drawing her silver bow up and dropping the hell-hounds, she glared at Sól, slowly moving towards me.

"Apollo, who is this?" she spoke calmly, but I could hear the uncertainty in her voice as she positioned herself between me and the Norse goddess.

"It's okay, she's friendly. Her name's Sól," I explained hurriedly, moving in front of Diana's bow, holding my hands out in a placating gesture. "she's a sun god too! Isn't that awesome?"

"I'll believe you...for now." Diana declared, lowering her bow slowly, keeping her gaze locked on Sól, who seemed pretty chill with the situation.

"Thank you." I sighed in relief.

Now that she wasn't threatening death at Sól, Diana took a second to take in the state of the clearing. A few trees were still smouldering from the sun-blasts and the two butchered wolves lay at our feet, probably giving my sister flashbacks to my last party with Bacchus and Pan (juicy gossip, ask me later).

"What in Pluto's name happened here?!" Diana turned her questioning gaze to me, looking me in the eye for the first time since she arrived.

"It wasn't me." I quickly announced, hoping to deflect blame as soon possible.

"It kind of was." Sól piped up, extremely unhelpfully.

"Hey! You're the one with the psycho wolves. I didn't ask them to attack me!" I countered.

"If you didn't smell like a sun god, you'd have been fine." Sól suggested calmly, a horribly smug look on her face. I got the distinct impression that she was enjoying placing the blame on me in front of my sister.

"It wasn't like I knew this place was filled with f-"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there," Diana interjected, placing a hand over my mouth, cutting me off. "now tell me what happened, properly."

After a few minutes of briefing my sister on my heroic stand against the vicious wolves (omitting the parts where I panicked and got bitten), everyone was caught up on the whole story. Sól spent the recounting of my epic fight sharpening her spear and pulling odd expressions. Diana on the other hand, seemed interested in my story for once, though she did laugh at the wrong moments.

Once I'd concluded my tale, Diana turned to Sól. "Thank you for rescuing my pathetic brother from his own stupidity." I frowned at that description. She had no need to add all those insults.

"It's no problem. I have a brother too. I'd never want him to get hurt either." Sól commented casually as she ran a whetstone over her spear tip, casting a knowing look at my sister. "Well, I'd better get going. Sköll will be here soon."

And with that, the Norse goddess of the sun jumped into her chariot and flashed away, horses neighing in excitement. This left me and Diana alone in the clearing, watching her leave.

"We're going home, now!" Diana snapped, surprising me with her sudden anger. I guessed it must have something to do with Sól's comment to her, but I knew better than to bring it up. I liked my head right where it was, thank you very much.

She grabbed my wrist, dragging me with her as she marched back into the forest. A stab of pain shot through my side. In all the excitement, I'd forgotten about the bites on my calf and thigh. With the sudden movement, they decided to make themselves known. Loudly.

Gritting my teeth against the unexpected and unfamiliar feeling, I couldn't stop the hiss of pain that slipped from my mouth. Forcing my legs to keep up with my sister, I followed her lead as she traversed the forest path only she could see. It was a pity we couldn't summon our chariots to us from here, but Norse influence was too strong in this area.

I think I did very well to keep walking as long as I did. Don't think me pathetic, but those wounds hurt! Like Greek fire had been spilled on my leg while I tried to run a marathon. Or when a certain serpent bit me (don't ask me later).

Now, I am the god of healing, so I should've been able to heal the wounds, but I soon found out something was blocking my attempts to do so. I didn't know if it was because the wolves had been from Norse mythology and not my own, or because I was currently low on worshippers to sustain me with their belief.

We were probably about three miles from the clearing when I couldn't go on. Diana had long given up trying to drag me by my wrist, so when I suddenly plopped down on the forest floor it took her a few seconds to realise I wasn't following anymore.

"What are you doing? We have to get back to our chariots!" she hissed fiercely, marching back over to me. I didn't feel like arguing with her so I pushed my aching legs up again. But instead of holding me up like they should have, they trembled and shook, forcing me to sit down again. Ichor had dried around the wounds, making them starkly illuminated in the gloom of the forest.

Diana instantly locked her gaze on them, eyes darkening. Moving forward fast enough to make me flinch, she crouched down beside me to inspect them. The frown on her face deepened as she poked at the ichor still seeping from the bite on my calf.

 **(AN: SLIGHTLY IMPLIED REFERENCE TO SELF-HARM. TRIGGER WARNING)**

"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt? Why haven't you healed yourself?" she questioned sharply. Looking in her mind while it was open to me, I felt an odd amount of fear coming from her. She kept coming to wilder and wilder conclusions, but it was the one she kept repeating that gave me pause. She thought I'd deliberately stopped the wounds from healing, and that I'd let the wolves bite me on purpose!

"No, no, nothing like that!" I assured her hurriedly, knowing she knew I'd been listening to her mind. "I was just really slow on the uptake when the wolves attacked. And...the wounds wouldn't heal when I tried."

Diana's expression of relief soon flashed into one of frustration. Expecting a punch, I tensed my body, only to be wrapped in a tight hug. It was so unexpected that I didn't react for a few seconds, but I snapped out of it and returned the hug just as tightly.

"Don't scare me like that, ever!" Diana shouted as we pulled away, suspiciously wiping at her eyes. "you should've just told me to stop."

"I know, but you're scary when you're angry." I joked, smiling light-heartedly. She smiled back and punched me lightly on the shoulder.

"Now, let's deal with those." she snapped back into business mode, placing a hand on my calf wound.

"What are you doing?" I questioned cautiously, watching as she transferred power from her hand into my wound. Too my surprise, the injury actually started to close and scab over. She repeated the process on my other injury, with similar results.

I inspected them in amazement. Sure, it wasn't as good as I could've done, but it was definitely impressive.

"I thought you couldn't heal people?" I inquired curiously. She looked just as bamboozled as me.

"I can't. I just thought that my power might help yours work properly. I just gave it a boost, I think."

"Well, thank you very much either way," I hesitantly pushed myself to my feet, relieved to find that I could stand easily. "this is much better."

"Let's get going then. The others are going to wonder what happened to us."

Diana stood up beside me, taking the lead again. This time I kept up easily, matching her pace as we continued our trek back to the chariots, and Mt Olympus.

I couldn't help the smile on my face. After meeting Sól and hearing her attitude to mortal belief, and finding that my sister still cared about me as much as ever, I was a bit more optimistic about the future of my name. The Romans will recognise me soon enough, I'll make sure of it. But until then, I was happy just being my sister's brother.

* * *

 **AN:** **Arrrhh! This was so out of control. I definitely didn't intend to make Sól chapter that long! But I saw a chance for sibling fluff and I took it. Sorry.**

 **In case you were curious, Aristaeus is the Greek god of cheese making and bee keeping. And Sól's brother is called Máni.**

 **Okay, life has been hectic these past months. I started collage a month a go and things have been hard. I've also had problems with my mental health, so that also delayed this chapter. Sorry again.**

 **I can't say for sure when the next oneshot will be. Depends if things get better for me or if I find a really interesting idea. But I will try my best to get the next one started soon.**

 **Oh, and I got my GCSE results a few weeks ago. I was very happy with them. Especially since I was horrible at English until this time last year.**

 **Please leave requests and review and follow**

 **Bye**

 **Wyrenfire**


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